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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

(*) The Faithful and Unfailing Love

PURPOSE:  I believe that God is love.  What a mystery!  Love connotes a lover and a beloved.  What a wonderful way to think about God!  Yes, God is great, powerful, just, forgiving, merciful… and all that… yeah, but, seriously, what is more powerful than Love?  Of course, God is complete, that means all those characteristics exist, and I do believe in God as all of those things.  But, which one has to stand out above all others?  Think about yourself, can you live in a world purely of ‘greatness, power, justice, mercy, wisdom’ and no ‘Love’?  What kind of world would that be?  How would a child develop without love?  What would a child become if all he/she knows is your greatness, justice, and sometime mercy and no love?  Be real!  God is all about relationships.  He loves like a God… pure and holy love.  He loves like a Father… fatherly love.  He loves like a brother/sister… as our friend.  He loves like a lover… romantic.  How incomprehensible!  How does God really say that He is love?  How does He love us?  Don’t just listen to my words and my interpretation… read it for yourself!  May be you are somewhat like me, sick of listening to what other people say and needing to search it out for myself…  let the search begin!

METHOD:  Word searches in the Bible on the word ‘love’ and then I compiled this list, chronologically.

OBSERVATION:
·        God speaks through Prophets about Himself.  These prophets testifies about the unfailing love of God: Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, King David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Zaphaniah
·        God also testifies Himself through His disciples: Matthew, John, Paul, Peter
·        Words that goes together with the love of God: unfailing, faithful, merciful, endures forever, slow to anger, truth, no bounds, corrects
·        God expresses His unfailing love not just through the mouth of Christ, but it had been there since the beginning of time, even in the very first book of the scriptures.

DISCUSSION:  After reading these passages, does it invigorate you to know that our God loves you that much?  It is a Crazy Love!  As we truly search our world views and our hearts and examine our ways, do we truly believe in the possibility to be loved by our creator this much?  Do we forget that a true relationship exist between our God and us in each moment of the day?  Just like there is a strong bond of relationship and love exist between you and your family or friends, even when you don’t see them or get to be with them for extended periods of time.  When you don’t see your loved ones, does it mean that they don’t exist?  Does it mean that your love for them or their love for you disappears?  How much more so do we treat God this way?  It is not crazy to talk to an invisible God.  It is not crazy to believe in an eternity.  To love God gives us the capacity to love others and to have hope.  How does a human get the idea of self-sacrificial love?  Where did that model come from?  Why do you sacrifice yourselves to love other?  Would you sacrifice yourselves to other if you get nothing in return?  Why would anyone do that?  Without God, we merely exist.  Only the ‘present’ matters.  What would be the point of eternity?  What would be the point of learning from the past?  Without God’s perfect love, wrong-doing only matters to the eyes of the victims; and injustice and lawlessness becomes debatable.  Man, I am just so jazzed about what I am reading in the scriptures below.  Please don’t trust my words… Go read it for yourselves!  What do you think?

My desire is that God will make you very uncomfortable with yourself in order to spark a lifetime of curiosity to look for Him more and more in our world.  One thing I do request of you: I beg you, do not turn off your mind and your heart to God's Word.




[--- Read on if you are intrigued ---]

[God sets up a model of sacrificial love and tells us what we must do]
1.      Genesis 22:2  “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
2.      Exodus 34:6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
3.      Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
4.      Deuteronomy 6:5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
5.      Deuteronomy 10:18 He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing.

[God reveals His faithful love]
6.      2 Chronicles 7:3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”
7.      Nehemiah 9:17 But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them
8.      Job 10:12 You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.
9.      Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.
10.   Psalm 40:11 Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.
11.   Psalm 40:16 But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!”
12.   Psalm 57:10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
13.   Psalm 59:17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.
14.   Psalm 85:10 Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!
15.   Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
16.   Psalm 103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
17.   Psalm 136.  His faithful love endures forever.
18.   Psalm 147:11 No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
19.   Isaiah 30:18 So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.
20.   Isaiah 43:4 Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.
21.   Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
22.   Jeremiah 3:19 “I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me.
23.   Jeremiah 9:24 But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!
24.   Lamentations 3:22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
25.   Lamentations 3:32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
26.   Ezekiel 16:8 And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
27.   Daniel 9:4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.
28.   Hosea 14:4 The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.
29.   Zephaniah 3:17 For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
30.   Matthew 5:44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

[Transition point in scripture: from God expressing His ‘unfailing love’ to His love taking human form]
31.   John 1:14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
32.   John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
33.   John 13:34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
34.   John 14:23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
35.   John 15:13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
36.   Romans 5:5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
37.   Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
38.   Romans 8:35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
39.   Romans 8:38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
40.   Romans 8:39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[This is what we must do with God’s love]
41.   Romans 12:9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
42.   Romans 12:10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
43.   1 Corinthians 2:9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
44.   1 Corinthians 16:14 And do everything with love.
45.   Galatians 5:13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
46.   Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
47.   Ephesians 4:16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
48.   Colossians 3:14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
49.   1 Thessalonians 3:12 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.
50.   1 Thessalonians 4:9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.
51.   1 Timothy 1:5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
52.   2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
53.   2 Timothy 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
54.   1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
55.   1 Peter 4:8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
56.   1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
57.   1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
58.   1 John 4:8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
59.   1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
60.   1 John 4:16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
61.   1 John 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
62.   1 John 4:19 We love each other because He loved us first.
63.   Revelation 3:19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

[--- The ‘Love’ Chapter ---]


1 Corinthians 13

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Kim Jong-Un needs more points


USA Today 4/12/13

(*) A Place of Dreams?

Would this place of dreams for you?
   A place with:
       Beloved family and friends
       Activities you enjoy
       Physical pleasures you can have
       Natural beauty you can immerse in
       Supernatural wonders to explore?

   And a place without:
       Sadness
       Sickness
       Human conflict
       Natural disaster
       Injustice & Inequality?

Would it still be a place of your dreams if,
       God is absent?

(*) Two Ancient Twigs

Symbol of Obsession and Mystery
Anyone?  Please tell me!

Embossed shirt breasts, Rhine-stoned jean derrieres
Adorn sensual neck lines, Permanent body arts
 
Precious metals, Twine nails
Roughen woods, Towering trees
 
Created by Persia, Perfected by Rome
Instrument for injustice, suffering, torture, and death

Nothing is more gruesome than thee!
How did you become a symbol of love and peace?

Emmanuel, Isa Al-Masih
You are the turning point
 
Question for our generation
One has to wonder...

If you don't believe in the Turning Point...
Then aren't you adorning and worshipping the symbol of injustice and death?


Monday, April 8, 2013

(*) God's Will... What is it?

GOAL OF THIS STUDY: I often hear people quoting “In God’s Will”…  What does that mean?  What does the Bible say?

METHOD: Word search on ‘will of God’ and ‘God’s will’ in the Bible.

OBSERVATIONS:  Paraphrase scripture
  1. Referring to a trust in God’s plan with future events as if God has total control
  2. The Spirit of God knows God’s will and the Children of God knows and does God’s will
  3. It is God’s will to bring us to repentance without regret through sorrow, which leads us to salvation
  4. Will of God is done from the heart and refuses to live for evil human desires
  5. It is the will of God to be sanctified and abstain from sexual immorality
  6. God’s will is: Be joyful always.  Pray continually.  Give thanks in all circumstances.
  7. Will of God is to persevere and do right even if we suffer for doing good
  8. It’s the will of God for church leaders to sacrificially, voluntarily and tenderly showing their flock the way.

SUMMARY: Often we say “if God wills” or “Insha’Allah” as if somehow we ‘let go’ of the unknown and our own ‘control-issues’ to God as if we are saying ‘I am not responsible for whatever happens next’ or ‘whatever happens, happens.’  The genuine hearts may refer to God’s will as a process of relinquishing our controls over to God, with a total acceptance of allowing God to guide us.  In this sense, we recognize that God has total control of our body, spirit, and mind, which is really a perfection of the greatest commandment to “Love God with all our soul, mind, heart, and strength.”  However, I suspect that most of us say ‘In God’s Will’ flippantly.  Have we recognized and accepted that doing ‘God’s Will’ is actually as specific as the list given above?  Let us take this more seriously and actually do what we say!

On the other extreme, we can say ‘In God’s Will’ almost fatalistically with a sense that “I can’t do anything about my future, God has it all numbered and everything I do has already been dictated.”  This view absolutely lifts up God’s sovereignty, which I think is awesome, but it does not take into account that our all loving God is a God of relationships.  He has created us, not as robots or chess-pieces that have already had everything mapped out.  We just merely live as a programmed-shell that carry out whatever God has in mind, like a robot would.  No!  God is mysterious.  He doesn’t need us to exist.  He is perfect and doesn’t need anything else to satisfy Him.  However, the truth is that He did create us human beings, full of emotions, and full of capabilities to do both good and evil … and to disobey Him.  It is almost like He created us for no other purpose other than letting us develop freely as we will.  As the Bible points out to us, His will for us is to seek Him first and be fearlessly generous and loving to our neighbors.

God wants us to tag along on this journey with Him and witness firsthand who He is and how He works.  God is also all about relationships.  He communicates with us and allows us to bargain with Him.  We should be transparent and make all of our needs and requests to God, and to offer Him our very best.  We should also confess all of our failures and ask God for strength.  He has promised to answer ALL of our prayers.  Amen.




ALL REFERENCES TO ‘WILL OF GOD’ OR ‘GOD’S WILL’ IN THE BIBLE
·        Exodus 18:15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
·        Micah 6:8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
  • Mark 3:35 For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
  • John 7:17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
  • Acts 18:21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
  • Acts 20:27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
  • Romans 1:10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.
  • Romans 8:27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
  • Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
  • Romans 15:32 so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
  • 2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
  • 2 Corinthians 7:9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
  • 2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
  • 2 Corinthians 8:5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.
  • Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
  • Ephesians 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
  • Ephesians 5:17 Don’t be foolish, understand what the Lord’s will is.
  • Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
  • Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
  • 2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
  • Hebrews 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
  • 1 Peter 2:15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.
  • 1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
  • 1 Peter 4:2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
  • 1 Peter 4:6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
  • 1 Peter 4:19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
  • 1 Peter 5:2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
  • 1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

(*) Fasting... what does it mean?

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY:  Thinking about why God’s people fast, and contrast it with why other religions fast, I was curious to find out what the Bible has to say about it.  I want to know what the Bible says about the purpose of fasting, what it means, and how to do it.

METHOD:  I word searched three different translations of the Bible (New Living, NASB, NIV) on the word ‘fast.’  First page is the summary.  Subsequent pages are a list of all the verses by categories. 

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE TEXT:
Fasting is a voluntary withholding from oral intake for moral or religious reasons.  A traditional Biblical Jewish fasting looks like this: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6033-fasting-and-fast-days

According to the Jewish traditions, one can fast during the fasting scheduled on the calendar or taking a private fast.  There are very obligatory fasts, other than the Day of Atonement.’  All the fasting on the Fast-Calendar has to do with commemorating an important event in Biblical history.  Please refer to the above reference for more detailed information.

In my searches, I found a total of 65 references on the word 'Fasting.'  Here is a breakdown of how often they are mentioned per category.

Reasons for Fasting
How many times mentioned in the Bible
In response to Mourning and Grief
4
To ask God for Help
14
To ask God for Forgiveness of Sins and in repentance
10
To ask God for Requests
5
Why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast
10
Jesus’ instructions on fasting
4
Jesus’ 40 day fast
1
As lifestyle
4
How God questions and detests our fasting
11
For evil reasons
3
Fast as grief for another human
1
Mentioned as a date
3


SUMMARY:  The Bible does not specifically lay out any regular declaration of mandatory fasting rituals.  But, it does indicate when fasting are done.  Days of fasting are not indicated by the calendar, per se, but by situations or in remembrance of an historical event.  The Bible does indicate that fasting is a part of the lifestyle of God’s people.  It is clear that Biblical fasting is done in these following situations: mourning or grieving the death of someone important, when asking God for help in situations of distress, when asking God for forgiveness of sins, and when making requests to God.  Fasting is always done along with sincere prayer and worship to God, rather than as a requirement.
-----------------------------
ps. I have all the references too.  There are too many verses to post on this blog, but, I can send it to you if you request it.

Our Struggle & Our Savior